"He always had the 'dogness' in him," Gore said. "I knew he was going to be alright his rookie year because of how mean and nasty he was."

Davis is emerging as more than a feisty, junk-yard dog in his third NFL season, and Gore isn't the only one praising Davis' efforts in the 49ers' 2-1 start.

Another emphatic endorser is New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, whose club hosts the 49ers on Sunday.

"In my opinion he's one of the premier right tackles in the game," Ryan said on a conference call with Bay Area media. "You've got a guy who's got all the athleticism you look for: a power player, he finishes, he's good in pass protection and a tremendous athlete."

That should be enough to make Davis blush. But it didn't. Speaking softly with one of his countless caps tugged down to his eyebrows, Davis dismissed Ryan's compliments as perhaps a sneaky ploy.

"I've got a long way to go. I'm 22 now," Davis said. "I don't take praise well because I feel they're trying to make you complacent. Because I'm not near where I want to be."

This weekend, Davis will playing near home. He grew up in Piscataway, N.J., some 40 minutes south of the Meadowlands, and stayed to play his college ball at Rutgers.

When the 49ers traded up to draft him 11th overall in 2010, they selected a player who's started every game since then.

General manager Trent Baalke is understandbly one of Davis' greatest admirers, and despite declining to comment on Ryan's analysis, Baalke surely wouldn't argue if some went so far to call Davis the NFL's best right tackle.

"Watching from his rookie year, he's a totally different player now," Gore said. "These first three games, he's been balling. He came a long way."

Center Jonathan Goodwin said the past two years of experience helped Davis improve greatly, specifically with his techniques.

Davis agreed that he sees a noticeable difference in his play, now that he's been able to participate in a whole offseason. His strive to improve, however, trumps any current compliments.

"One day I want (Ryan) to say I was the best he's ever seen," Davis said.

Baalke is pleased with how Davis has fared this season against the Green Bay Packers' Nick Perry, the Detroit Lions' Cliff Avril and the Minnesota Vikings' Brian Robison.

One area of noticeable improvement: penalties. Davis hasn't been flagged this season, after drawing a team-high nine penalties last season and 11 as a rookie.

Davis currently ranks sixth among tackles in Pro Football Focus' pass-rushing-productivity stats. He's yielded no sacks, no hits and three hurries in 110 pass-blocking snaps. He ranked 51st last season, 69th as a rookie.

In terms of run blocking, he's graded 17th among tackles, also up significantly from last year's mark of 44th and a rookie ranking of 58th, according to Pro Football Focus.

"Really from March on we've seen nothing but improvement -- fundamentally, mentally, recognition wise," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "Are there things that he needs to improvement on? Yes, but everybody does."

Davis admitted that Ryan's compliments were "cool to hear" because it reaffirmed his personal belief that he's improving.

"But then it's kind of backhanded," Davis added. "I think everything is backhanded, because I have expectations for myself that are higher than anybody else can have of me."